ISLAMABAD: After reports emerged that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is using a pirated version of VMware, the tax authority has now announced to buy a licensed version of the software.

The said software is used in Pakistan’s Web-based One Customs (WeBOC) and e-filing of income tax returns.

The issue was brought up during a recent meeting with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells, raising questions over intellectual property rights (IPR) violations at government departments.

“We have conveyed to the US authorities through proper channel that the software will be purchased for use in WeBOC,” a senior official in the FBR told Dawn on Thursday.

He said an alternative of the software is available and FBR has already removed it from e-filing of income tax returns platform — Iris.

The official said that Pakistan Revenue Automation Ltd (PRAL), a subsidiary of FBR, has been asked to seek quotations for the purchase of the software for use in WeBOC.

He said it will cost more to government in removing the software from WeBoc.

VMware provides cloud computing and virtualisation software and services. Its desktop software runs on Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, while the enterprise version hypervisor is for servers.

As part of IPR violations, the FBR has already received a reminder from the US authorities asking for purchase of software and avoiding the pirated version.

The official said that FBR has asked for initiation of inquiry into the issue. “We are doing one on our own,” he said, adding the US authorities have only asked for the software’s purchase.

As PRAL provides services to provincial revenue authorities, it will purchase the software from own funds.

An official statement issued early in the evening stated the software has been provided by a vendor and it was embedded in different programmes and the situation was not known to the authorities.

However after being informed about the factual position, the FBR has asked its IT team to take up matters with the vendor and start working on other options.

It is expected that a solution will be available to the FBR team within two months and the same has been conveyed to the US officials, added the statement.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2020